Free scientific information

When authors of scientific papers submit their manuscripts for
publication in scientific journals, they are frequently asked to sign a
copyright-transfer agreement to the publishers of the journal. After such
a transfer, the authors may retain little freedom to use their own papers.
For example, some copyright agreements forbid authors to make their works
available on a web page: you might be reading something more interesting
than this, now! (Free science organisation)

Scientific information in the form of articles, is jealously guarded by
the various scientific publishers. Downloads on the net can cost from US$1
to US$60. However, valuable and free information can also be obtained from
the following organisations:

The fight for Open Access to scientific information has a long history,
with fighters like Peter Suben. Follow the timeline
to see which journals and archives have joined and which countries have
passed supportive legislation. Go to their links
page for open access publications. The movement is gaining momentum!

Finally an impressive beginning with free web-published scientific
articles, in more than 100 peer-reviewed open-access journals for all disciplines.
Fast turnaround, fair peer review, and a chance to publish truly new ideas
that are shunned by the mainstream journals. Watch this space!

Elsevier's impressive science search engine, named after the Greek
visionary Scirus, scans millions of knowledge sites and journals and provides
relevant results which are not always free of charge. Elsevier sells articles
through ScienceDirect for US$30
each.

The Public
Library of Science is a non-profit organization of scientists committed
to making the world's scientific and medical literature freely accessible
to scientists and to the public around the world, for the benefit of scientific
progress, education and the public good. No information yet but remarkable
progress with the HR2612
Public Access to Science Act (PASA).

The Open Archives Initiative encourages scientists to archive their
own
publications and to network these globally using a standardised archiving
method and free software to do so. Their first search
engine gives access to over 270,000 scientific articles. This promises
to become a great resource.

PubMed Central is an initiative of the National Institute of Health
to make medical publications freely available, at least their abstracts.
Environmental
searches also turn up good results. Their LinkOut option on search results
refers to articles and information freely available on the Net. First search,
then select LinkOut articles on the tool bar.
BioMedSearch links
to and searches for free publications in the bio-medical field.

The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA. Use their
search
page or browse
by volume. Returns highly relevant results with free PDF documents.
Only their most recent 6-8 volumes are not free of charge.

US Department of Energy's (DOE) Science and Technology Information
and Resources: gray literature, preprints, and journal literature. Scientific
and technical information in physics and other disciplines of concern
to the DOE.

Springer Verlag publishes many books, scientific magazines and online
publications. It supports Online First, which means that publications do
not need to wait for magazine space. Use their SpringerLink search
engine to find free abstracts of most journals. The complete texts
need registration and are not free.

DoIS (Documents in Information Science) is a database of articles and
conference proceedings published in electronic format in the area of Library
and Information Science. At the moment it holds about 8643 articles
and 1987 papers, 4889 of them are downloable from the site. Use their search
engine.

google

The Google search engine has classified links to open access scientific
sources of information:
archives:
research laboratories, university theses, public organisations.
journals:
some 30 journals providing free access to their articles. (Most unrelated
to the environment. Recently removed)

The campaign for free scientific information fights to make all scientific
information free to the public. Visit their links
page for a list of free information and magazines. Free text books
in html. Not much there yet.

The Social Science Information Gateway (SOSIG) is a freely available
Internet service which aims to provide a trusted source of selected, high
quality Internet information for students, academics, researchers and practitioners
in the social sciences, business and law. It is part
of the UK Resource Discovery Network. Their search
engine searches their list of valuable science links.

The US Global Change Resources Information Office collects resources
about changes happening globally, from climate to environment. Use their
search
engine to find relevant documents, often from scientific magazines,
of which many in PDF. It also covers the ASPEN global change institute.

The Open Directory Project (ODP) is the largest, most comprehensive
human-edited directory of the Web. It is constructed and maintained by
a vast, global community of volunteer editors. It links to information
pages elsewhere on the Web, and is searchable, returning relevant results.

The Digital Library of the Commons (DLC) is a gateway to the international
literature on the commons and contains author-submitted papers, full-text
conference papers, dissertations, working papers, pre-prints, and reports.
Aquaculture, fisheries, agriculture, grazing, resources etc; the problem
areas of the world. An OAI initiative. Search.

This is an encyclopedia composed of information available on the Internet.
There are two main divisions: the MacroReference
contains references to large areas of knowledge, FAQs where available,
and pointers to relevant areas of the MicroReference,
which contains short bits of information. It is maintained by one person.

Island Press is a nonprofit organisation, publishing books on the most
advanced thinking on the conservation of our natural resources: books about
soil, land, water, forests, wildlife and hazardous and toxic wastes.

Founded in 1991 and publishing books for social justice on race, gender,
feminism, economics, ecology, labor and U.S. domestic and foreign policy,
the Press seeks to provide an analysis of problems from a range of perspectives,
and to aid activists and others in developing strategies for action.

The Global Volunteer Network, a non profit organisation based in Wellington,
New Zealand places volunteers in community projects in China, Ecuador,
Ghana, Nepal, New Zealand, Romania, Russia, Thailand, and Uganda.

Whale and dolphin adoption project. Whales & dolphins are dying
to be saved. A non-profit organisation dedicated to raising funds for marine
mammal research, education and conservation of the marine environment.

Environmental Defence Society: a New Zealand based environmental advocacy
organisation made up of a voluntary group of professionals, and funded
through financial memberships. The group aims to promote sustainable environmental
management through the promotion of policy development, advocacy and precedents
gained through their involvement with selected planning cases

Environmental Risk Management Authority: a quasi-legal body with members
appointed by the Minister for the Environment, is responsible for the enforcement
of the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 1996, and oversees the
issuing of approval and licenses under the Act.

Links to marine conservation organisations in New
Zealand

The Department of Conservation is a government department tasked with
protecting biodiversity on land and in the sea. unfortunately it has shown
little knowledge of the sea, as also witnessed by its web site and our
many
rebuttals. No link to Seafriends.

National Aquatic Biodiversity Information System, a map-based (GIS)
database of environmental and fisheries information, made available through
the Web. Extensive and growing very slowly. Initially mainly fisheries-based.

Option4 fights for the birthright of New Zealanders to the fish in
their seas. In doing so it had to sue the New Zealand government and won
in court. Option4 continues its fight for more fish in healthy seas, again
an area mismanaged by the NZ government. Why do the people need to sue
their governments? Links to Seafriends.

Personal web site of Dr Bill Ballantine, protagonist for marine reserves
in New Zealand and world-wide. Dr Ballantine is seen as the 'father of
marine reserves', however his ideas are forty years old, do not acknowledge
marine degradation and his web site is stagnant. No link to Seafriends.

Funded by WWF NZ and written by Dr Alison MacDiarmid (NIWA), this web
site gives good general information about the state of biodiversity of
New Zealand seas, as it provides a general description, status, key locations,
summary of threats, typical habitats, state of information, significance
for Maori, key references for each major taxonomic group. Not written for
schools. Poor images. No link to Seafriends.

Written by Vince Kerr and supported by WWF and DOC: "MarineNZ.org will
become a virtual marine online world, full of stunning underwater photography,
videography and leading marine biology reports and presentations. There
are tools for students, teachers and all those interested in our marine
environment. There’s also information on our streams and rivers, and how
they interact with our beaches and oceans." It provides scientific reports
but poor quality photos, video and information. No link to Seafriends.

An up-beat web site written by Samara Nicholas-Sutherland and funded
by the Mountains to Sea Conservation Trust (Vince Kerr/DOC), advocating
more marine reserves. EMR takes school children for snorkelling inside
and outside marine reserves, pointing out more snapper and fewer sea urchins.
No link to Seafriends.

Links to marine conservation organisations
& information,world-wide

A place of exchange for ocean information, education
and public discourse about the future of the ocean and its implication
for human survival. Incorporating THE PHYSICAL OCEAN, the UN Atlas of the
Oceans and other useful sites; THE WORLD OCEAN DIRECTORY, an indexed network
of organizations worldwide with ocean interests; THE WORLD OCEAN FORUM,
a digest of ocean conferences, publications, exhibits, news and media;
and THE WORLD OCEAN CLASSROOM, an inventory of curriculum, ocean exemplars
and educational resources for global distribution.

The Department of Conservation and Land Management (CALM) is the State
Government agency responsible for the management of Western Australia's
national parks, conservation parks, marine parks, State forests and timber
reserves, nature reserves, marine nature reserves, and all associated forest
produce, native plants and animals. We are also responsible for conserving
native plants and animals throughout the State and managing their sustainable
use.

UNESCO's Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission promotes international
oceanographic research and methods for oceanic and atmospheric forecasting.
It fosters education and training programmes for systematic observations
of the global ocean, the results of which will be made widely available.
It has declared 1998 the International Year of the Ocean

The mission of American Oceans Campaign is to safeguard the vitality
of the oceans and our coastal waters. AOC is committed to scientific information
in advocating for sound public policy. We are equally committed to developing
partnerships with all entities interested in protecting the environment.
AOC seeks to ensure healthy sources of food and coastal recreation as well
as protect the ocean's grandeur for future generations. Read their fish
briefs.

A very extensive and informational site about many topics: "Our mission
is to increase understanding of, and influence public debate on, the natural
environment, human societies and human interaction with the environment."

Conservation Ecology is an electronic, peer-reviewed, scientific journal
devoted to the rapid dissemination of current research. Manuscript submission,
peer review, and publication are all handled on the Internet. Content of
the journal ranges from the applied to the theoretical. Topics covered
include the ecological bases for: the conservation of ecosystems,
landscapes, species, populations, and genetic diversity; the restoration
of ecosystems and habitats; and the management of resources.

We envision a world of healthy, protected oceans with wild and flourishing
ecosystems, free of pollution and filled with diverse and abundant wildlife.
The mission of the Center for Marine Conservation is to protect ocean ecosystems
and conserve the global abundance and diversity of marine wildlife.

National Ocanic and Atmospheric Administration (USA) describes and
predicts changes in the Earth's environment, and aims to conserve and wisely
manage the Nation's coastal and marine resources. Very good information
about global warming, ocean and earth phenomena.

An excellent site with uptodate world maps from various earth orbiting
satellites. Resource information on global issues. Atmosphere, oceans,
energy, life, ozone, temerature, radiation and more. Also visit visibleearth.nasa.gov
for various satellite images.

Because people are inspired by ideas, empowered by knowledge, and moved
to change by greater understanding, WRI provides -- and helps other institutions
provide -- information and practical proposals for policy and institutional
change that will foster environmentally sound, socially equitable development.
Extensive site.

An organization committed to an interdisciplinary analysis of global
environmental issues, one that could help raise global awareness of these
issues. See also the Earth Policy
Institute, which provides a vision of what an eco-economy will look
like, how it will work, and how to
build it. By definition, an eco-economy is designed to mesh with Earth's
ecosystem instead of disrupting and destroying it

Case studies of solutions to environmental problems: to provide a forum
for the presentation of solutions to vital concerns in the areas of health,
population, development and the environment. "Too often a good idea
never reaches others."

National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research Ltd (NIWA) conducts
high quality research in atmospheric, marine, freshwater and coastal systems.
NIWA is a private company and not a government department and is not interested
much in the Public Good and free information.

The Ministry of Research, Science and Technology, established in 1989
as part of the structural reform of the Government’s interest in research,
science and technology, provides science and technology policy advice and
related services to the Government.

Once the government department of statistics, is now a private company
publishing the Statistical Yearbook while providing the government with
information. However, for the public nothing comes free. A shame.

The Royal society of New Zealand has the statutory responsibility to
foster a culture supportive of science and technology in New Zealand and
to initiate appropriate international links. It has over 50 member
societies in all categories of science. A library of publications is
under construction.

Marine Sciences

The New Zealand Marine Sciences Society (NZMSS) promotes all aspects
of marine science and wise management of our seas. It organises an annual
conference.

The Marine Education Society of Australasia acts on behalf of its members
to promote appreciation and understanding of the marine environment through
excellence in education, MESA provides a national forum and advocacy on
marine education and encourages international initiatives in this field.

Greenpeace is an independent, campaigning organisation which uses non-violent,
creative confrontation to expose global environmental problems, and to
force the solutions which are essential to a green and peaceful future.

Interested in integrating the Internet and communication technologies
into your own classroom teaching? Want something that is well organised
and ready-to-go? You've come to the right place! Antarctica, Tongariro,
Fiordland and more.

Encyclopedia of atmosphere

The Encyclopedia is a one-stop source of information, for younger and
older users alike, on a range of atmopsheric issues, including air quality,
acid rain, global warming and ozone depletion. http://www.doc.mmu.ac.uk/aric/eae/index.html

Biozone specialises in biological education for schools. It sells excellent
learning media, and it has a comprehensive page with over 500 links to
biologically educative web sites worldwide, classified by interest type.

Visit Zubi's place www.starfish.ch
if you are particularly interested in frogfishes/ anglerfish biology and
pictures. Her links page is a good starting point for a great variety of
information about marine organisms.